Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-09-29
CRIMINAL MODES
Fraud and Forgery ResOrted To
in POWell's Interests.
FRAUDULENT DOCUMENTS, PUR-
PORTING TO BE GOV. FORA
KER'S TAX MESSAGE,

Newspapers-Criminal Methods Which
Should End the Powell Campaign Now.
One Of the most glaring and Grim
inal frauds ever perpetrated in Ohio
has just been committed under the direc.
ton of the Democratic state executive
committee, and has the approval of the
Democratic candidate for governor, T. E.
Powell, who is in daily conference
with the committee The Democratic
newspapers of the state have been a party
to the crime either knowingly or through
paign the Democratic newspapers of the
state Joined in abuse of Governor Fora.
ker, and claimed that in a special message
sent by him to the legislature he had ad-
vocated the increase of taxes upon farm
property. This lie fell fiat, and those
who had started it became a laughing
stock. FarmS IS were too intelligent to
be deceived By it, and from all over the
state came a protest from Democrats OF
sense against using such palpable false
hoods for campaign purposes. Democrats
of any intelligence knew that the miser
able falsehood would prove boomerang
and would injure the chances of theiI
candidates. But the Democratic state
executive committee which had fathered
the falsehoOd obstinately refused to drop
their nefarious tactics, and finding that
people were intelligent enough to read
Governor Foraker IS message and learr
for themse Ives that he had recommended
nothing detrimental to the interest of tht
farmers, they concluded to get up a mes
sage for him and circulate it through the
state. Nothing more infamous has beer
attempted since the concoction of the in
famous Morey letter, with which an at
tempt was made to defeat Garfield The
Democratic committee got out three diff.
ferent editions of what purported to be
special message delivered by Governor
ForakeS to the legislature. They based
their fabrication and forged fraud on the
message which had been delivered by
him, and which had received the com.
mendation of Democratic newspapers.
They took this message, chopped it to
pieces, garbled it, changed words, dropped
out whole sentences, changed figures, an6
then had the audacity to sign Gov. Fora,
ker's name to it, and printed it as mes.
sage delivered by him. Their three edi-
tions differed from each other; and were
none of them in fact the message which
had been delivered by Governor Foraker.
Their object in getting out three different
forms is not known, unless it was to pre-
vent any one from pointing out specific
ally the falsehoods and forgeries COM
mitted in any one of them. In fact, they
may have got out fourth or fifth edi-
tion different entirely from the other
three by this time. Their editions have
been of different dates, although all pur-
ported to be the same message. Part OF
them are dated 1887 and part 1886. Dem.
ocratic papers, for which the fraud was
prepared, published these forged and gar
bled messages, some of them printing
those dated 1887, others those dated 1886.
Even the venerable Leckey Harper and
other old mossback editors have been
guilty of publishing these messages, al
though it is to be hoped by those who
want to retain respect for them that they
have been deceived by the Democratic
executive committee. Such crime was
never before attempted thus early in the
campaign, even by the leaders of Ohio
Democracy. While it was known that
Mr.. Powell was the commander in chief
of the party, and responsible for its
management in 1885, when the frauds.
and forgeries at Cincinnati and Columbus
were perpetrated, and as chairman OF
the state executive committee is practi-
cally chargeable with having at least
been responsible for the attempts made
to enjoy the fruits of these frauds and
forgeries, it was generally supposed that
he had sufficient sense not to allow such
an infamous forgery and fraud as this
now committed to be used to secure him
votes for governor. The commission of
such offenses as these brazen and open
defiance of all rules of honesty indicate
the depth of depravity which the Demo
cratic party leaders have reached in their
efforts to secure votes for Mr.. Powell
SuOW CICdl1l OuotO IldS "
commend him to the people, and that
they know he will be defeated over
whelmingly this fall if an honest cam
paign is conducted. Such disreputable
means and methods as this Will undoubt
edly be pressed by the Democratic com,
mittee throughout the campaign, and
Republicans and honest Democrats should
be on their guard against them, for GER
tainly no honest Democrat will endorse
such methods as this. Nothing sent out
from Democratic headquarters can now
be believed.
WE have called attention elsewhere to
the infamous fraud the Democratic COM
mittee, and at its instigation many DEM
ocratic newspapers, has been guilty of
this early in the campaign. The history
Of this new crime merits perusal. 1t is
surprising and shocking to learn that the
leaders of Mr.. Powell's canvass are in
dulging in the same methods which
brought the Ohio Democracy into disre-
pute in 1885. 1t was hoped by every one
that a lesson had been learned at that
time and since which would result in the
cleansing of the party from such methods.
It seems, however, to be otherwise. We